Last year, when Tiger Woods was offered the 2025 Ryder Cup captaincy role, he declined, citing ‘lack of time’. Now, talk of him taking up the role continues, especially after Team USA’s painful 13–15 loss at home. While the chatter about Woods taking up the role is speculative, there is one person who remains certain, and he is Billy Foster, the British bagman who famously caddied for Woods at the 2005 Presidents Cup, during which he even gave Woods a reality check.

“I’m sure he’ll do it at some stage. Depends on where he wants to do it, but obviously, he’s a big friend with JP McManus. So, yeah, it could well be,” Foster weighed in recently on The Rick Shiels Golf Show.

Sure, Foster is speculating too. But here’s why his words carry weight.

Not only does he know Woods’s temperament firsthand, but he also understands the significance of timing and connections in golf’s circles. JP McManus, who Foster mentioned on the podcast, is not just a good friend of Woods but is also the owner of Adare Manor, home of the 2027 Ryder Cup. That relationship alone makes the 2027 edition a particularly tempting opportunity for Tiger Woods to finally step into the captaincy role.

When Woods had an offer to captain the squad for Bethpage, he politely declined, citing his expanding commitments with the TGL and the ongoing PGA Tour–LIV negotiations.

“With my new responsibilities and time commitments involved, I felt like I would not be able to commit the time to Team USA and the players required as a captain,” he said at the time.

While Tiger declined for the moment, he never specified that this was a role he would never take up, a stark contrast to Phil Mickelson‘s statement. Lefty was suggested to take up the role, too, after Team USA’s harrowing loss in September, but he quickly shut it down. Mickelson is definitely out, but the calls for Woods to step into the role are not just coming from fans.

Johnson Wagner, former PGA Tour player and current Golf Channel analyst, has also publicly backed the idea. Earlier this month, Wagner made his pitch for Tiger Woods, claiming that he “checks all the boxes,” and “would be an amazing captain.” Wager boldly claimed that Woods definitely “has the time to devote” and will be “exactly what the US side needs.”

But he may be partly right about Woods having the time, as he was recently named as the chair of Brian Rolapp‘s Future Competition Committee, where the goal is to create “significant changes” on the PGA Tour. That new role suggests Woods might now have the bandwidth to consider leading Team USA in the future, especially since the Ryder Cup prep begins nearly a year before.

Whether Tiger Woods actually takes the captain’s chair remains to be seen, but insiders like Foster suggest that if he and other veterans do not get a chance to take up the leadership sooner, the opportunity might slide past them.

Billy Foster urges Tiger Woods & others to seize Ryder Cup opportunity before it slips away

Talking about potential future captains like Lee Westwood or Ian Poulter, Foster made an admission.

“I think it might have gone for the sole reason that, you know, by the time they would get it, they might be in the late 50s, then you’re not in touch with the young players anymore. I can see it sliding past them, unfortunately, and they would have been great captains…. it might go past them. I hope it doesn’t, but you know where I’m coming from.”

What Billy Foster is saying is that players like Woods and Poulter are close to their 50s now, and by the time they reach that stage, they might be out of touch with the younger players coming through. That makes timing crucial for any veteran considering a Ryder Cup captaincy. Foster even suggested that if players like Woods aren’t ready to take on the top role of being the captain, there are other ways of being involved, like being a vice captain.

But his point here is that the window to lead won’t stay open forever, and players like him need to seize the moment before it slips away. And for Woods, the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor might just be that perfect moment.

Anyways, Woods is currently riddled with health issues, undergoing his 7th back surgery just this month. Hence, he may not be returning to competitive golf anytime soon. Even though the Ryder Cup is two years away, Adare Manor could give Woods the chance to contribute in a way that doesn’t require the physical demands of full-time competition.